Borussia Dortmund Star Visits The Nigerian Maracana Stadium in Ajegunle

It was indeed a long wait for the arrival of Karim David Adeyemi, the Nigerian German-born winger who plays for German club Borussia Dortmund.

Karim Adeyemi was born in Munich on 18 January 2002 to a Nigerian father, Yemi, and a Romanian mother, Alexandra. In his childhood, he played basketball, volleyball, and football.

The forward landed in Nigeria two days ago, returning first to Ibadan to witness the Karim Adeyemi Foundation Academy in action at the Olubadan Stadium.

His passion for giving back to the community involves offering educational and football opportunities to less privileged youngsters using qualified coaches, emphasizing the significance of this initiative.

Where else can he take this project to if not Ajegunle after he left Ibadan?

However, the intervention of Yemi Idowu, the founder of the Nathaniel Idowu Foundation, who gifted the world-class New Maracana Stadium to the people of Ajegunle, brought the German player to Ajegunle.

Did I mention a long wait in my first paragraph? Oh, just saw that I did. Ok.

Kids started trooping into the state-of-the-art facility as early as 9:00 am with high hopes and expectations to catch a glimpse of the Bundesliga forward.

The clock started ticking, and the New Maracana Stadium was filled with young footballers, children, and parents who brought in their kids to enjoy Christmas with Karim Adeyemi, as advertised. Young talents took to playing on the five-aside and seven-aside pitches, a reminder of how we used to play during our childhood. No one remembers food until the sun sets. That was what happened yesterday. The kids continued playing and took their minds off the expected guest.

On the other hand, the non-playing kids and their parents were just restless until yours sincerely took the microphone to entertain the children and their parents as they danced, ate, drank, and won prizes.

Yesterday I saw the patience of Hon. Fatai Adekunle Ayoola in full strength, but the smiles never ceased from his face as he took time off to take selfies with some of the children, coaches, and parents.

At a point, everyone became apprehensive as the sun was about to set on the west side of the New Maracana Stadium, creating an ambiance of beauty.

At exactly 5:50 PM Karim Adeyemi and his team, led by staffers of Borussia Dortmund, drove into the stadium. Joy and excitement suddenly pervaded the arena as journalists positioned their cameras to report what would be a milestone in the history of Ajegunle.

Furthermore, after taking a tour of the facility and the hostels, it was time to face the gentlemen of the press.

Also, Hon. Ayoola’s back-to-school bags were presented by the forward, who also reciprocated by handing Dortmund’s kit bags to the selected kids after he got a gift from the mercurial Ajeromi-Ifelodun council mayor.

Indeed, it was a long wait for Karim, but was it worth it? Yes!!! It was indeed worth it as every child got fed and went home with school bags, as presented by Hon. Ayoola.

Watching the philanthropic Yemi Idowu yesterday, I just asked myself, ” What manner of man is this that ensured everyone, I mean, everyone was well taken care of?”

I will not fail to mention Engr. Rasaq, who pulled his strength to the program, and certainly Mrs. Ugbo Bola provided all the snacks everyone ate at the event. God bless everyone who had a hand in this epoch-making event.

Meanwhile, we hope this visit will create an enabling environment for future developmental programs that will expose the children of Ajegunle to the world.